Beautiful Ft Pierce, Coming of Age, SLR/IRL

Ft Pierce Inlet, Ed Lippisch, February, 2016

Our Indian River Lagoon neighbor to the north, Ft Pierce, was recently voted as one of Florida’s “most affordable beach cities.” I have always loved Ft Pierce, and felt like it was underrated. Growing up in Martin County I was aware of its history and some shortfalls, but Martin County has its fair share too.

These aerial photos were taken recently by my husband Ed Lippisch and his friend Scott Kuhns. They show the beautiful turquoise water the area usually experiences. Yes, Taylor Creek is attached to the C-25 canal and at time spews dark, polluted water primarily from draining agricultural fields, but work is slowly being done to improve the situation. As we can see from some of the photos, seagrass has suffered in this area from repeated poor water quality too.

In the mid 1800s the area was called Edgartown, famous for an oyster cannery and fishing village. It was later named for a lieutenant colonel and fort of the Seminole Wars. Ft Pierce was incorporated 1901.

One thing the area can consistently brag about is its usually beautiful water. Certainly a better bet than the St Lucie River/Southern Indian River Lagoon in Martin County. As one the most affordable beach towns in Florida, maybe it’s time to take out our checkbooks…

Photos show Ft Pierce around the IRL, Taylor Marina, the Ft Pierce Inlet, and C-25.

SFWMD canal and basin map. C-25 canal is the northern most canal in the image.

“History, Encyclopedia Britanica: Fort Pierce, city, seat (1905) of St. Lucie county, east-central Florida, U.S. It is situated on the Indian River (a lagoon connected to the Atlantic Ocean by inlets), about 55 miles (90 km) north of West Palm Beach. The fort (1838–42), built during the Seminole Wars, was named for Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin K. Pierce (brother of President Franklin Pierce), who commanded a detachment. Permanent settlement began around the fort site in the 1860s, and the small fishing village of Edgartown and an oyster cannery were also established. In 1901 these entities were incorporated as the City of Fort Pierce. Pineapple growing was an early factor in the city’s economic growth that was later replaced by citrus farming.”

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Mark J Shaber Unfortunately no more grass. But the water quality and clarity is beautiful. My reason for purchasing a home here this month.
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Jacqueline Fordyce
Jacqueline Fordyce I agree Jacqui, It used to have such a bad stigma.
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Jane Westbrook Smith
Jane Westbrook Smith Love Fort Pierce! Beautiful photo!
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Blake Faulkner
Blake Faulkner I lived in the north area of Ft. Pierce back in the late1970s-mid 1980s, about 5 years in the historically rich area called St. Lucie Village along the Indian River Lagoon. Almost directly across from where the original natural inlet was and near the historical marker for Fort Capron, at the end of Chamberlain Blvd & at the IRL shoreline. Pepper Park on Hutchinson Island is where the old natural inlet was over 100 years ago. Ft. Capron was an important outpost during the last Seminole Wars.

That area on south Hutchinson Island just to the right (south) of the south causeway bridge used to be where the city owned Ft. Pierce Municiple Waste Water Treatment Plant was. I had 2 friends who worked there and got to fish for snook a few times on the seawall right where the treated water effluent pipe was. The tide flow going past the pipe caused snook to wait there to ambush whatever shrimp or fish the tidal flow brought in front of them.

I scuba dived there off that pipe once with one of those friends from his boat at full high tide, slack water, when the water was clear. We limited out on keeping size lobsters in that one spot. The snook were stacked up under that pipe then too, waiting for the tide to go out.

My point was…that sewage treatment plant put its treated effluent into the Indian River Lagoon constantly and because the Ft. Pierce Inlet was right there to take the high nutrient effluent water out with the tide, the area all around there stayed pretty healthy. Seagrass beds were very healthy all around the Ft. Pierce Inlet area. Never saw any light-blocking algae blooms in the Indian River Lagoon there like they had last spring in the northern IRL that led to a massive fish kill from oxygen depletion when the bloom went bust.

Taylor Creek often stained the water in the IRL near the north causeway bridge but the volume of freshwater coming out there from western agricultural areas was never anywhere near the volume that comes down the C-44 when Lake O. water is being dumped like we saw in 2016 & 2013. Not even close. I fished that Taylor Creek spillway too. I know what I saw regarding what goes over that spillway. It has no comparison with what gets dumped out the St. Lucie Locks when Lake O. level has to be lowered ASAP.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch replied · 4 Replies · Just now
Brian Griffith
Brian Griffith Thank God for the State park on N Beach,
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch Was Mayor Benton part of that in his early days? It is a gift! Awesome.
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Brian Griffith
Brian Griffith I don’t know but we used to spend the night in the vans and go surfing in the morning alot in the 60.s before it became a state park.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch

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April Preston
April Preston I think Ft. Pierce is a great place to invest money into. It can only get better. The best areas are along the lagoon and the old White City/Midway Rd. Very beautiful and a great feel with good businesses.
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch
Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch 🙂
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Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch